Method of and apparatus for casting cementitious bodies in sections



C. R. NICHOLS METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR CASTING CBMENTITIOUS BODIEIS IN SECTIONS Filed March 22, 1926 2 Shets-Sheet 1 'July 3 1926. 1,592,673

C. R. NICHOLS METHOD OF AND AiPARATUS FOR CASTING CEMBNTITIOUS BODIES INSECTIONS Filed March 22, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 A 62 a 66 2 27 7 z.-

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Patented July 13, 1926.

UNITED STATES 1,592,673 PATENT OFFICE.

omrron'n mm monors or DETROIT, mcnxean.

nn'rnon or AND APPARATUS non CASTING CEMENTITIOUS BODIES IN SECTIONS.

Application filed March'22, 1928; Ser1a1 No..98,610, and in FranceDecember 7, 1925.

This invention relates to forming and ouring bodies'of plastic materialand has particular reference to a process. of and apparatus for theforming of such bodiesin cylindrical sections within rotating moulds.

The invention has particular application to moulds of one-piececonstruction, such as shown in my prior Patent No. 1,457,185 wherein thecast product is removed longitudinally from the mould.

The invention contemplates the provision of novel means whereby thereinforcements for the product are spaced away from the 'mould walls bybeing supported by the means used toshape or form the ends of thesection being cast,

The invention further contemplates such reinforcements which in turn,space the body and forming members longitudinally of the mold to thus.form a body into a plurality of sections of desired lengths.

A further object of the invention is to employ a fusible material tocoat the entire molding surfaces of themould and end forming memberswhereby to provide for the free circulation of the curing media andready removal of the ware from the mould when. cured.

Still further the invention contemplates V the support of the cast bodyaway from the wall of the mould when the mould lining of fusiblematerial has been melted, which support is effected bythe reinforcementsfor the body in cooperation with the end forming or shaping members. 1

The invention also aims to provide novel means-for positioning the bodyend forming or dividing members within the mould which will not scar orinjure the mold. Still another object of the invention is to provide forthe longitudinal introduction into the mould of the reinforcements andsection end forming members, and for the corresponding longitudinalwithdrawal of the completed product from the mould without dismantlingthe latter and without injury thereto. 1

The, following description together with the accompanying drawings issuch. clear disclosure as will enable those skilled in the art tounderstand and practice the invention.

Like characters refer to like elements throughout the term end formingmemhers referring to the elements designed to form or shape the ends ofthe cast sections.

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of.

from the mould wall when the lining for the latter has been fused ormelted;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of a mold having end formingmembers and reinforcements arranged therein for forming a'multiplenumber of sections in a single molding operation, some of which sectionshave tongue and groove ends and some straight or fiat ends, and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary enlarged sectional view ofa tongue and. grooveend forming member illustrating the spacing means mounted thereon, forpositioning the end forming members circumferentially within the mould.

In Fig. 1, 1 is a mould, 2 is the end formingmember, which may bepositioned at any point longitudinally of themould, and- 3, is a fusiblematerial with which the-molding surfaces of the mould and the end forming members are coated. 4 are pins of any suitable material, such aslead-or wood, in-

ser'ted into hole 5 in the end forming member 2, whereby the latter ispositioned circumferentially within the mold as will be laterdescribedin detail. dis areinforcing *for' the body to be cast and may be of andesired design, that shown in the left hand end of Figure 6 is formed ofstraight lon itudinal sections, while that illustrated to t e right hascircumferential reinforcements for the'body wound about and secured tothe longitudinals. forcemcnts is no part of my invention which lattercontemplates the use of any desired type. 6 is an annular groove in andforming members 2 adapted to receive the ends of the reinforcing. 7 is aband encircling the mould to strengthen the latter, the band having anannular'flange 8 which extends over the edge of the mould and -forms ananchor for end forming member 2 to rest against when the latter is inposition for the mould to be charged. 7 is a similar The design-oi suchrein-' bend encirclii'zg the opposite end of the mould but has noprojecting flange over the edge of the mould, thus leuving a freeopening through which. the end forming members and reinforcements may beintroduced into the mould and the cast bodies withdrawn. 9 is an annularring secured to band i by studs 10 to secure the end form-- ing memberin the unobstructed. end of the mould. l1-11 are runner rims or bends bwhich the mould is further strengthens supported rotated. 12 are studssecuring a. bulkhead to the. end of the mould where curing underpressure is practiced as will be later described, the studs 10 servingfor the same purpose on the opposite end of the mould. 13 is threadedopening "for draining the fused mould lining if desired and may beclosed by any suitable means such as oping.

The operationv is as follows:

The mould is mounted for rotation upon runner rims ll--li.. Suitablemounting and rotating apparatus is shown in my prior Patent No.1.45%!{185 and Lu copending application Ser. No. 24,627 wiich has becomePatent 1,572,455. An end forming member has pins inserted. in the holes5 of the suflicient len 5th to project against the mould well. The end.forming member 53 being of smaller diameter than. the mould thus.

permits its ready introduction. into and removal from the mould. The endforming member is moved to a position as indicated by the dotted linesin Fig. 5, whereupon, reinforcing 6 is projected intothe annular more 6of the end forming member 2. Otierand additional end forming members andsections of reinforcements may be successivel" introduced into the mouldto form the desired number of body sections. Fig. 1 shows the assemblyof parts for formin two bodyi sections at one operation; Fig. 5 orforming four body sections and Fig. 4 for forming only one body section.

In all instances the end forming member first introduced into the moldis moved forward until it seats or rests against flange 8 of band 7,whereupon the last end forming member is introduced against the rein-'forcing 6 which latter projects into annular groove 6*. The annular ring9 is placed against end forming member 2 and secured in position byturning up studs 10 in their threaded seats in band 7. v

The fusible lining 3 having preferably been applied to the moldingsurfaces of the end forming members 2 before the latter are insertedinto the mould, the latter is now completely lined therewith. A suitablemethod for lining the mouldjis to pour in a melted state sufficientuantity of this material to coat mould sur aces, and to then rotate themould and allow the fusible material to harden. This fusible lining maybe oose-vs of any thickness desired and preferably is sufficient to fillthe annular space between the end forming members and the mould wall,thus producing an even surface against which the body is to be cast. Theend form ing members roject inwardly as desired to divide. the ho y intosections and preferably project away from the wall of the mould adistance equal to the thickness of the fin ished product.

More than one section of reinforcing 6 may be provided if desired by thesimple expedient of forming additional annular grooves 6 in end formingmembers 2 and providing sections of reinforcing tocorrespond therewith,one of which slips over the next smaller. Likewise the reinforcing mn bepositioned as desired away from the mould wall, i. e., by anchoring thereinforcing in annular grooves the faces of end orming members 52.

The mould is next rotated and the plastic material for forming thearticles to be cost in introduced and spread within the mould about thereinforcingond end forming members and against the fusible material byany suitable means or method,'such means or ositioned as desired, in

method being no port of my present invention. Theymould is continued inrotation to densify the articles cast.

' The mould is then removed from the ro toting mechanism and conveyed toe convem' ient point for further operations.

The mould and contents may be placed in an ordinary steam kiln used forcuring concrete products, and. the usual curing trectmen-t applied, inwhich event the fusible material will be melted and drained away.

As the temperature rises the mould lining' cast. The bodies will be susended within.

the mould, the endsof the relnforcements 6 projecting into annulargrooves 6 in members 2. The ware being cast and densified about thereinforcements is thus supported centrally within the mold, with a freeannular space about its periphery and between theware and the mould. Thefusible material having been melted away from the forming surfaces 'ofthe end forming membars 2 therefore free space about the ends of thebody as well. The fusible materialmay be drained away from the mouldeither through the crevices between the mould wall and ring 9' orthrough threaded opening 13 which may be closed with a pipe plug orcock. A valve being preferable if curing is to be efiected underpressure and Nil Ian

a part of the fused material retained within the mould as a curing andimpregnating medium.

In Fig. 5 is shown an assembly of parts for casting four sections ofware at one operation, and it is obvious that any number may be so cast.In this figure a part of the end forming members 2 are of a contour toproduce pipe sections having tongue and groove ends. A detailedenlargement of a part of one of these end forming mem hers is shown inFig. 6. The production of ware having any convenient shaped ends, andany desired number of sections in one operation is contemplated, theforms and number shown merely being illustrative.

In Fig. 4 is shown an arrangement of parts for casting only one body orsection at each operation. The reinforcing 6 projects into the annulargrooves 6 in end forming members 2 at each end of the mould. Thus whenthe body is cast about thereinforcement and fusible mold lining 3 ismelted away the body is suspended within the mold by the reinforcementwhich inturn in supported by the end forming members.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that in any of the formsshown the body after bein cast is supported away from the mould we 1when the mould linin is fused away from the mould and the en formingmembers, and that the weight of the entire assembly, including the bodyis carried by pins 4 mounted on the periphery of end forming members 2and projecting against the mould wall.

Such arrangement provides a free space about the entire surfaces of thebodies cast, Which arrangement serves to permitthe free circulation ofthe curing media about the body and permits of the readylongitudinalremoval of the bodies out of the mould, which latter may be accomplishedupon release of studs 10 and removal of ring 9. In curing and on removalthere will be only the pins'4 pro'ecting against the mould and sincethese m y be made of such material as to readily yield or collapse onmovement of the body, there will be no pinching or bind'in of the bodyand parts on removal from the mould. The ins 4 may be of lead, plasterof Paris or other such material as will not scar the mould surface whenthe assembly of paits is introduced into and withdrawn from the mould.The provision of the free space about all surfaces of the cast ware byusing the fusible material and supportin the were within and away fromthe moul is of vital importance when the body is to be impregnated bythe fusible material while undergoing curmg. In such curing practice,bulkheads may or may not be provided and secured to the ends of themoulds, as by studs 10 and 10', depending on the pressure of the curingmedia to be used. A fusible material is employed possessing propertieswhich are resistant to, or tend to make the .wareresistant to alkalis,acids, or other injurious elements, depending on the service to whichthe product is to be subjected.

The proper temperatures, presures and duration thereof are attained inaccordance with the water content of the mass and density of the wareformed, to cause the fused material, (which breaks up and partiallyvaporizes at the desired temperatures and pressures) to penetrate thebody to the depth desired. The practice of this impregnation is fullyset forth in my oopending application Serial Number 71,009,

ing application Serial Number 62,802.

What is claimed is 2-- 1. The method of casting hollow ware in sectionswhich consists in spacing dividing media longitudinally of a conformingsurface, coating such surface and media with a. fusible material,rotating a quantity of plastic material against the coating to form aseries of sections in one casting o eration, then in fusing the coatingand owing a curin agent through the space formerly occupied by thecoating, and finally in removing the cast sections and the dividingmedia by longitudinal movement thereof as a unit out of the conformingsurface.

2. The method of casting hollow ware in sections which consists inspacing dividing media longitudinally of a conforming surface, coatingsuch surface with a fusible material, rotating a quantity of plasticmaterial against the coating and about the dividing media to form aseries of sections in one casting operation, then in fusing the coatingand finally removing the cast sections and dividing media bylongitudinal movement thereof out of the conforming surface.

3. The method of casting .a multiple numabout the reinforcements, fusingthe coating and supporting the ware away from the conforming surface bythe reinforcements, circulating a curing agent about the sections in thespace formerly occupied by the lining and then in removing the sectionsof ware and dividing 'media longitudinally of the conforming surface.

4. Means for casting hollow ware in a series of sections in oneoperation consisting of a rotary mould, end forming and dividing mediafor the ware spaced longitudinally of the mold by and supporting reinforcing means which latter is adapted to remain in the sections of theware as reinforcements, and means mounted upon the periphery of the endforming and dividing media and engaging the mold to space and supportthe latter away from the mold.

5. Means for casting hollow ware in a series of sections in oneoperation consisting of a rotary mould, end forming and dividing mediafor the ware spaced longitudi nally of the mould by and supportingreinforming members spaced axially of the mould-to form a serles ofsectionalbodies of the material, and supporting means for the membersengaged therewith and with the moulding surface of the mouldto space theperipheries of the members therefrom whereby to allow of removal of themembers from the mould.

7 In combination with a mould for forming bodies of cementitiousmaterial, end forming members spaced axially of the mould to formaseries of sectional bodies of the material, means for the-membersengaged with the moulding surface of the mould to space the peripherieswhereby to allow of removal of the members from the mould.

8. In combination with a mould for forming bodies of cementitiousmaterial, end forming members spaced axially of the mould to form aseries of sectional bodies of the material, and supporting means for themembers engaged therewith and with the mouldin surface of themould tospace the peripheries of the members therefrom whereby to allow ofremoval of the members from the mold, said means being-formed ofmaterial softer than that of the moulding surface.

In testimony whereof I afiix mysignature.

CLIFFORD RALPH NICHOLS.

of the members therefronr and yieldable supporting

